Kakashi stared, eyes wide in disbelief at the boy that had taken the lethal hit for the criminal. Zabuza laughed loudly, "Well done, Haku! I knew you would be useful to me when I picked you off the streets!"

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Imagine Genta, killing himself so you could live.

Sakura was silent as she dislodged herself from Sasuke, and watched as Haku, who had been talking to Naruto quickly teleported to where her sensei and Zabuza were.

He's willing to cut through Haku to get Kakashi?

:::

The short, fat man stepped on Haku's body, mocking him, causing Naruto to shout, "Don't touch Haku with your dirty, filthy—"

"Kid, he's dead," Zabuza said, having agreed to Kakashi that he wouldn't have to fight him anymore. "Haku is dead, so it doesn't matter."

"How?" Naruto asked, his eyes tearing up when he thought of the boy not much older than him. "He had a terrible past—his own father tried to kill him and nearly succeeded, and then almost dies again because he doesn't have a home. Then, he was taken in by you, who gave him the wrong idea of being a tool for you and sacrificing himself! Don't you have a heart? He practically lived for you, and you—you just threw him away!" The blonde shamelessly sobbed. "Is this what happens...when you're too strong? Do you lose your sense of humanity? Because, if so, I don't want—"

"Kid," Zabuza muttered, silent tears streaming down his face, "Not. Another. Word."

Naruto stood there, shocked. Gatō laughed, along with the hired help. "There are only two types of people in this world: the strong, and the weak! And you, Zabuza, after fighting, are weak! Now, I can have some of my men take you down!" He gestured for the men behind him to move forward.

Zabuza growled, then calmed after he looked at Haku. "Hey...lend me a kunai, would you?" Naruto nodded quietly, pulling out a kunai and tossing it to him.

The assassin moved forward suddenly, cutting through at least fifty men to get to Gatō. They all tried to stop him, stabbing him with spears and impaling him with swords, but Zabuza succeeded in reaching the drug dealer. The severed head flew through the air as the Demon of the Mist hissed, "If I'm going to hell, you're going with me!"

Naruto grimaced as it landed near him, then turned away. He felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice say, "Naruto, don't look away. This is the life of a shinobi." The blonde nodded, and watched as Zabuza fell. He would never forget that moment.

:::

Sasuke suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of pain. His muscles ached, his bones groaned when he tried to move, and there was a heavy weight on his neck. Whatever it was, it was quivering and shaking, and also spilling water on him. When he opened his eyes, he immediately deactivated his Sharingan and saw pink. Hair tickled his face as he tried to breathe in, and say...

"Hn."

Abruptly, his lungs were greeted by air when the weight was lifted, and the silent cries were ceased. "Sasuke?"

He attempted to open his eyes once again, but they only came half-lidded. The voice calling his name was full of worry, and it reminded him of the Uchiha Matriarch. "Okaa-san?"

"No. Sakura."

Sakura... Suddenly, he sat up, and looked at the girl beside him. "Sakura!" Sasuke mentally thanked Kami in relief when he saw she was alright. Then, he looked to her face, which she kept wiping at with her arm cover, her eyes a little red and her nose as well. "Were you crying?"

"I was not crying," Sakura said quietly, her cool demeanor coming back. "I am just surprised that you are not dead." She wiped once again, then stood up on her own. Sasuke got up as well, with a few difficulties.

"Ramen-boy," she called out, and the blonde turned, blue eyes wide with surprise. "Sasuke is alright."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Sakura called me by my name? He sighed quietly, and raised an arm to Naruto. The dark-haired genin grunted as he felt his knees buckle, but he did not fall. Instead, Sakura was there to catch him and help him stand, putting an arm around his shoulders, his resting on her small waist. Despite her underweight appearance, she was strong, Sasuke noted, and with her help, moved towards Kakashi and the loud blonde, who was jumping for joy when he saw home standing.

"Teme, you really had us worried there, dattebayo!" Sakura allowed Naruto to hold him. "Sakura-chan was really worried, you know," he whispered, then smirked slyly.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, turning away to look at the pinkette, who was now talking to Tazuna. Is no one going to mention the vines that came out of nowhere?

:::

"Thank you for everything you've done!" Tsunami bowed, along with Inari and Genta.

"I'm gonna miss you, Sak'ra!"

"M-me too!"

The two little boys hugged Sakura as she stood still, waiting for them to stop.

"I'm gonna be a real good shinobi, Sak'ra! Then I can't fight for you and protect you!"

"Aa." She nodded, and then turned around as everyone said their goodbyes. Afterwards, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi trailed after her.

"What's the bridge going to be called, Otou-san?" Tsunami asked her father, who smiled, thinking of the little genin that had risked her life for him, as well as his friends. He watched her short hair barely touching her shoulders while the blonde boy spoke loudly to her.

"I think...the Great Sakura Bridge is a nice name."

:::

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto asked quietly. "Zabuza said that all shinobi should be like how he was. Is it true?"

The jōnin looked up from the two graves and sighed. "Yes. All shinobi are required to follow a code, which personally, I don't. However, there are times when you must."

"Oh..." The blonde was silent. "Am I a tool?"

"Yes. Rule Number 19 of the Shinobi Code states 'A shinobi has to honor, they take the village's as their own'," Sakura recited.

Kakashi made a noise of approval at first, then said, "That is true, Sakura, but no one can keep it up forever. Not even you."

Both teammates looked at her, but she blinked and ignored their heavy stares.

:::

"I love ramen~" Naruto sang as he skipped on the road. "Just ten more minutes and I can eat all I want, —ttebayo!"

Sasuke sighed, irritated, and Kakashi kept reading his book. Sakura was still leading, and when she saw the entrance to the village, began picking up the pace.

They passed Izumo and Kotetsu, who waved cheerfully as the girl they had grown to know, and then reported straight to the Hokage's instead of sleeping, which is what they all wanted at that moment.

"Team Seven! I heard there were...a few complications on your mission. Other than that, it was smooth, yes?"

Naruto nodded eagerly, itching for some ramen. "Yeah! We all fought, kicked butt, and Ihaven'teateninforever bye!" The blonde sprinted off, leaving the rest of his team to watch him.

"Very well. Sasuke, Sakura, you two are dismissed. Kakashi, stay here in give the mission report in detail."

When the two other genin left, the Hokage was informed of all that had happened, including Sakura's kills and details by Kakashi.

This was very fast-paced, but I wanted this arc done with, so... what will happen next?!

How will Sakura change from this experience?

How will Naruto?

And Sasuke?